Monday, 9 July 2012

DIY: Paper Pom Poms for the New Flat

I FINALLY MOVED. Ugh packing took forever, and there are still a few boxes that need sorted, but I am mostly settled into my new flat. Even though it's a third of the size of my old home I really love it- it's in a perfect location & the bus service that runs right past my work & straight into the city centre stops right outside my front door- ideal!I'm still in the process of organising & decorating the space (have made quite a few trips to the charity shop to drop off boxes) plus I have been working a lot as I'm having to pull extra shifts & look after the place for my boss whilst she's on her holidays.

One thing I did want to do for my living room was make some paper pom poms to hang in a corner as 1) I'm obsessed with them & 2) they're fun, cheap & easy to make & are an easy way to add a bit of colour to a room. They are so easy to make I could fill my flat with them if I didn't restrain myself, so I thought I'd do a quick DIY post so you can try it for yourself.

You will need:

Sheets of tissue paper, at least 10 or so.

Floral wire- I've used the paper covered kind, but you can get all
kinds, and thicknesses too, just make sure it's easy to twist into place.

Scissors (preferably large & heavy as the paper can be hard to cut once folded)

Layer your sheets of tissue paper on top of one another (large sheets make large pom poms & small ones make small poms) Iwouldn't recommend making them too big. Also more sheets/layers make fluffier poms but are more fiddly to do. Fold them all together in a concertina fold, like you were making a paper fan.

Twist the floral wire round the centre of the folded paper to keep it together. Round the ends with your scissors. You don't have to be neat.

Open out the folds by pulling the edges towards one another to make a flower.

Tease the layers apart to make your pom pom fluffy- this is the fiddly bit (although not too bad). Try not to tear it, but don't panic of you make a couple of rips here & there, you will never notice them once it's done.

That's it! Your pom pom is now ready for display. You can hang them, like I have done with mine, by twisting the floral wire into a loop & tying ribbon, string or clear nylon thread through it. You can also twist the wire round things to attach it to a fixed place (I have attached a couple of big pink ones to the sunlight in my bedroom this way), or just set it on a shelf.

And if you get bored or redecorate you can always make new ones in different colours! You can experiment with size, (really little ones are super cute) number of layers of paper, or you could use a different coloured layer each time to make rainbow pom poms!

Now all I have to do is try to figure out how I can combine my love of twinkly lights & paper poms- my little flat would be perfect!

xoxo

Hi I'm Sam! I'm a 29 year old Northern Irish girl living in the North East of England. I like makeup, a good bargain, baking, gin, dogs and building forts. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.